I Wanna Be on Her A-Team
by thecoleaderofgroupb
Summary: Set in the beginning, X-23 is captured by a group of mobsters and is strung up in a decrepit warehouse back to back with an Agent of few words. She gets a call from Logan, summoning her to the mutant school for a meeting. Storm told her to not make too much of a mess – yeah, easier said than done. Inspired by Black Widow's escape in The Avengers & done as a writer's challenge.


"So where'd you get this one?"

"Picked her up sneaking around Fiore's bar," one of the goons replied as he secured the girl's bonds on her wrists. He hauled her up until her feet were a good two feet off the ground before wrapping the rope around her ankles a few times and securing the end on a nearby metal stool.

Another of the goons walked around her and slapped around a man that was tied up to a chair behind her. The man pressed his lips together and narrowed his eyes at the goon.

"And then there's this guy – loaded with more weapons than a drug cartel," the first goon said as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Busted him shooting my second-in-command from across the street while drinking a cup of coffee! Then this son of bitch takes out the rest of my men with a bullet each!"

"It was tea boys," the man said with a smirk. "I was going for something…light this evening."

The second goon punched the man in the cheek and snapped at him to shut up.

"Not so high and mighty when you're weaponless, huh Fancy Pants?" the first goon taunted, spit flying everywhere. The man turned his face to the side and blinked the glob of spit out of his eyes, silently making a note to put a few extra bullets in this moron when he got out of this dump.

The second goon walked around the man and touched the girl's cheek. "This little bitch ain't half bad looking…"

The first goon rolled his eyes and joined his comrade, patting him on the shoulder before pushing him to the side. "Yeah? Well she's a sneak…and I hate sneaks," he declared before he pulled back his fist and slammed it into her cheek. The bruise that appeared began disappearing rapidly and the girl fixed her green eyes on both men.

_Not even a groan or a scream_, the man thought as he listened to the goons address the new captive. He hadn't seen the victim they strung up, only thing he knew was about her was that she was female and fair-looking. _Barely know this girl but she's got a strong resolve. _

The boss emerged from the shadows, tapping his fingers together as he stared at them. "So…we've got ourselves a master marksman and some superfreak girl," the boss mused as he walked around them. He stared at the man and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Well shoot me boys, it's Agent Zero…in the flesh," the boss said as he tilted his head. "You killed half of my men while taking a coffee break and didn't bat an eye." He leaned closer to the man and looked him in the eye as he said, "I'm prepared to make you an offer you can't refuse. A man of your skill would fit right in with me and I would pay handsomely for your services."

Agent Zero pursed his lips and pretended to contemplate the offer. "Hmm. Tempting Rusko but I'm already contracted out to someone else for the night. Aside from that, I work freelance on my own terms."

Rusko shook his head and nodded over at one of his henchmen, who walked over to the table where all of Agent Zero's weapons were displayed. The henchman looked over all of the options while Rusko walked over to the girl and cupped his hand under his chin as he stared at her.

"This one's been silent ever since we picked her up," he said after a minute. "Whatsa matter girlie – cat got your tongue?"

The girl fixed her sharp green eyes on Rusko and shook her head no. He stepped closer to her and asked, "You got a name girlie?"

The girl remained silent and looked around the room with disinterest. Rusko dug his nails into his palm and drew back his fist to hit her when a phone started blasting _Animals_ by Maroon 5.

The second goon hunched his shoulders and fished his phone out of his pocket. "Sorry! Was gonna change that soon," he muttered before sliding his finger across the screen to answer.

"'ello? Uh yeah he's here," the goon said before handing the phone over to Rusko.

Rusko accepted the phone and he held it up to his ear. "Yeah who is this?"

"Spiderman. No genius this is Logan," a gruff voice said on the other end. "I know you've got a girl tied up – green eyes, black hair, name's Laura."

Agent Zero sat up straighter and strained his ears to listen to the conversation. The gruff voice sounded familiar…either Creed or Logan. After he thought he heard the name 'Laura', a smile crept across his face. _So the silent girl behind me is the infamous she-version of Logan. _He had heard whispers about her in passing between scores and hits he had to make. Part of him wanted to brush her off as another figure he should steer clear of but he had been…curious.

Rusko glanced over at the girl and opened his mouth to reply when Logan added, "Put her on now."

The boss moved the phone away from his ear and he placed it on Laura's shoulder. She cradled the phone between her left shoulder and her ear before speaking in a warm, low voice, "What do you want Logan? Kind of in the middle of something."

"You're tied up aren't you?" Logan sighed.

Laura rolled her eyes and glanced over at Rusko and his goons. "Yeah but you're ruining my plan – these idiots are quaking and begging for mercy."

Agent Zero couldn't help but snicker. Either she had a good sense of humor or she liked to annoy Logan.

Rusko looked at his goons before looking over at Laura. "Girlie, I run the baddest mob in this town. People tremble before me but I do NOT beg for mercy."

Laura shot him a sickly smile, her green eyes glittering with sarcasm. "Yeah well whatever problem you're dealing with, you're gonna–"

"I'll cut right to it," Logan interrupted her. "Storm's with me – she'll explain everything." He handed the phone off to the other mutant and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Laura, where are you right now?" Storm asked as she brought the phone up to her ear.

"Yeah hmm…love to tell you that Storm but not really in a position to do–"

"She's tied up in a worn-down warehouse downtown in the roughest sector of the city," Logan replied with a smirk on his face.

Storm shook her head at him and continued talking to Laura. "Professor X…and Magneto have called a meeting at the school. We need every mutant we can get – there has never been a more critical moment in the history of mutants than now."

"Magneto?" Laura asked as she raised a brow. "We're talking about the guy who put Professor in a wheelchair, guy that needs to taken down with plastic pellets, one with the helmet – that Magneto?"

Out of the corner of his eye, Agent Zero saw both of the henchmen look nervously at Rusko at the mention of Magneto. Even Rusko seemed a little uneasy when the girl uttered his name.

"Yes."

"Since when did we decide to work with him?" Laura demanded.

Logan took the phone back from Storm and continued, "Look long story short, all of us need to be here now for the big meeting they're holding. It involves the future of mutants as we know it."

"We're sending Blink over to your location to pick you up," Storm said in the background. "She'll transport you back here when you're ready. …Charles said that he sensed another hostage with you, do you know who it is?"

Laura raised her brows as she replied, "An Agent Zero. That ring a bell somewhere?" She heard Logan groan in the background, followed by a loud bang of something being turned over. Storm covered the phone and told Logan to pull himself together.

Agent Zero snorted and leaned back in the chair. "Sounds like your dad missed me."

"He's not my dad," Laura shot back over her shoulder. She pressed the phone closer to her ear as she addressed Storm again. "Guess Logan knows him then."

Storm sighed as she looked over at Logan, who was lighting a cigar to take his mind off of the situation that was starting to unravel. "Logan, what have we said about smoking in the school?"

"I say it's appropriate now," Logan growled as he blew out a puff of smoke. "She better not bring him along."

"How long will it take for you to get out before Blink arrives?" Storm asked as she turned away from Logan.

Laura studied her surroundings and replied, "Can you give me a minute?"

Logan took the phone back and replied, "Make it quick."

"Laura, please don't try to make too much of a mess!" Storm called out in the background.

"I can't…promise that," Laura replied before looking at Rusko. He stepped forward to take the phone from her and Laura pointed her toes toward the ground, making the dewclaws extend from her boots. She wasted no time before kicking her dewclaws up and striking Rusko in the gut, making him fall to the ground. The henchmen straightened up and tried to spring into action, scrambling for weapons close by. Laura swung her legs and kicked herself out of the rope before swinging her legs up high to reach her wrists. The dewclaws slashed the rope and she flipped, landing on her feet with her claws extended.

She dashed at one goon, dodging a punch to her face. She swiped one claw across his chest before elbowing him to the floor. She ducked as the other goon fired one of Agent Zero's smaller side arms at her and made a dash to Agent Zero's chair, cutting his bonds free with her claws.

"So…you want me for the Mutant Team," Agent Zero mused as he rubbed a wrist.

"Oh just–" Laura started to say when the other goon fired a bullet and it sailed into her left cheek. She felt the bullet rush through her skin and her teeth before both started filling in, thanks to her healing gene. She whipped around, green eyes blazing with anger as she spat out the bullet with a bit of blood before charging straight at the second goon.

Agent Zero kicked the ropes off his ankles and dashed over to the table, selecting two of his favorite side arms and loading the cartridges into them in the blink of an eye. He fired a few shots into the first goon who had tried to sneak up on Laura and smirked as the goon slumped to the ground on his face. He ran towards Rusko and put the barrel of one gun against his neck and the other against his lips.

"About that offer," Agent Zero began as he curled his fingers around the triggers. "I'll pass on it." Rusko's eyes widened before closing as he sank to the ground, blood pooling from the back of his head and the sides of his neck. He smirked as watched Laura fight with the other goon. She didn't look a lot like his old teammate from Stryker's team, which wasn't bad in his mind. Instead of Logan's brown hair, dark eyes, and ruddy complexion, she was fairer skinned, which highlighted the long black hair that fell past her shoulders and the bright green eyes that flashed as she focused on her target. _Not bad_, he thought. _She's a damn good fighter like they said she was._

The goon gripped Laura's wrist from behind and she shoved him backwards into a wall. He grunted at the impact and she rammed her left claws into his torso from behind her back. He froze and shuddered for a few seconds before Laura slid the claws out and shook off the blood on them.

Agent Zero had wandered over to the table and began to reload his weapons into his jacket, pockets, and sleeves. Laura rolled her shoulders and retracted her claws, crossing her arms over her chest.

Two seconds later, a portal appeared with Blink standing in between it.

"Sorry to kee–whoa! Ummm…" Blink murmured as she stared at the scene before her.

Storm peered in and sighed as she looked over at Laura. "Laura, I told you not to make a mess!"

Laura shrugged her shoulders and Logan surveyed the scene, chuckling as he stepped through the portal and ruffled her hair.

"Nice job kid," he said with a smile. He looked up at the sound of Agent Zero clearing his throat and the smile faded from his face.

"What's this asshole doing here?" Logan growled as he stepped towards his old nemesis.

Laura rolled her eyes and nudged Logan in the chest. "Storm said we needed all the mutants we could get, so there you go." She nodded over at the portal and began to step through it. "Don't we have some big meeting now with Professor?"

Agent Zero smirked as he watched Laura's fit form, highlighted by her tight, black ensemble, cross over from the warehouse to the entry hall of the school through the portal. Earlier he considered leaving before Laura's allies showed up, less than excited about the prospect of reuniting with his old teammate. But he did like Laura's fire – she was a little wild and slightly trigger-happy but she was a good fighter, fluid in her movements yet quick. _I'd work with that one again_, he thought as he watched her fit body turn left at the end of the hallway. _Doesn't hurt that the view's damn fine._

Logan scowled at Agent Zero and spit on the ground before putting his cigar between his teeth again and striding through the portal, shoulders squared and back stiff as a board.

Storm glanced over at Agent Zero and gestured to the portal. Agent Zero nodded sharply as he followed behind her, Blink sealing up the portal behind him.

_Here we go._


End file.
